AHS: Senior Year
by Meg Rider
Summary: The sequel to Andalasia High School. Please read the original first.
1. Chapter 1

Jasmine got to school early on the first day of senior year. She hadn't planned it, but she barely slept the night before. She had spent almost the entire summer with Aladdin and it had felt like it would never end. But it did and now she was about to start a new school year without her boyfriend. On top of that, today was Aladdin's first day as well and he was about to start a new school year with his ex-girlfriend.

Jasmine couldn't help groaning as she made her way to her new locker. She worked the combination and instantly began hanging photographs of her and Aladdin on the inside of the door.

"You have a boyfriend? Damn. I guess that means I can't ask you out for Friday night."

Jasmine froze and slowly turned around. Her heart leapt to her throat and she thought might faint when she saw Aladdin standing in front of her. He gave her a crooked smile. She laughed in excitement and threw her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"My dad was promoted to head manager of the company's branch out here so we had to move back," Aladdin replied, not letting go of her.

"So, you're gonna be here for senior year?"

"I'm gonna be here for senior year."

_XXX_

There weren't a lot of students at school when Aurora and Phillip arrived; mostly freshmen hoping to learn the layout of the school before their classes started. Aurora remembered being a freshman and getting lost in the hallways with Belle trying to find their first period classes. She was glad that time in her life was over. Though, she was a little sad that high school itself was almost over and after graduation she wouldn't be seeing most of her classmates again.

"Hey, babe; I have to get ready for the freshman assembly," Phillip said. Since Phillip was the senior class president, he volunteered to talk to the incoming freshmen about what to expect at AHS in the next four years.

Aurora nodded and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later."

She watched Phillip walk away and she suddenly felt a small sense of relief. She had spent practically every minute with him this summer and this was really the first time she had any space from him. As much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to feel crowded by Phillip.

_XXX_

"I have so many college essays to work on, it's not even funny," Tiana muttered, slumping against the locker next to Belle's.

Belle and Jane exchanged looks. "The first day of school has barely even started, yet," Jane pointed out. "Why are you already stressing over college essays?"

"Why are you _not_?" Tiana retorted.

Jane shook her head. "It's senior year. We have to have fun, Tia. We can't work the whole time."

Tiana stared at her as if she had just sprouted horns and a pointed tail. She then glanced at Belle. "Back me up here, Belle."

Belle closed her locker. "Sorry, Tiana. I'm actually with Jane on this one. It's our last year of high school. Our last year of no real responsibilities and being able to enjoy being young and carefree."

"Carefree…" Tiana repeated slowly, as if she didn't understand the meaning of the word; and Belle suspected she probably didn't. "High school is about preparing you for college; it's not about being carefree and having fun."

"We can do both," Jane said. "And I plan to."

Belle nodded in agreement. "Me too."

_XXX_

Rapunzel strutted down the hallway in her cheerleading uniform with Charlotte. Despite not making head cheerleader like she had wanted, Rapunzel was still excited to be on the squad. The head cheerleader last year, Helga Sinclair, had kicked her off the squad; but then Rapunzel's good friend, Charlotte, had been made head cheerleader and invited Rapunzel back. It felt good to be back in the uniform.

It felt so good, she couldn't help shouting out, "Go Dragons!"

A couple of nearby students echoed her cheer and she smiled brightly at them. As they turned the corner, Rapunzel spotted Flynn at his locker. She faced Charlotte. "I'm gonna meet up with Flynn. I'll catch you later."

Charlotte nodded. "All right. Oh, and Rapunzel; your hair looks great."

Rapunzel ran her hand over her hair. It had grown out a few inches over the summer and she was letting her blonde hair grow back out over the brown dye. She thought the over-running roots looked tacky, but evidently the look was called "ombre" and was currently trendy, so she didn't bother to try and hide it.

She ran down the hall to Flynn. "Hi, boyfriend!" she greeted.

Flynn smiled lazily at her. His hair was messy and Rapunzel could tell he overslept; despite her morning texts to wake him. "Hey," he muttered.

"Happy first day of school!"

Flynn groaned. "Don't remind me."

_XXX_

This year, Meg's locker was right next to John Smith's. John hung out with her before first period as she hung up photos of hers and Vanessa's band at different gigs over the summer in her locker. Since both Thomas and Pocahontas were gone all summer, Meg and John found themselves hanging out a lot over the summer. Meg couldn't remember exactly how it happened; it just kinda did. She didn't mind, though. She found herself actually enjoying his company.

Meg was just finishing hanging up the last photo when Thomas approached them. He was obviously coming to see John, but Meg's heart did a little flutter at the sight of him anyway. She hadn't seen him since the last day of school.

"Hi, Thomas," Meg greeted as if he hadn't broken he heart and she hadn't been pining over him all summer like some naive school girl.

"Morning," he replied quietly.

After a few awkward moments, Meg cleared her throat. "I should get going." She closed her locker and walked away without looking back.

_XXX_

Esmeralda catwalked down the hallway, showing off her new, expensive clothes and taking in all the attention she was getting. The summer had been real good to Esmeralda. After shooting the music videos in New York, she had gotten hired to do some modeling for A&amp;F, shot some commercials and starred in various other music videos back in LA. She now had more money than she knew what to do with and had even become a celebrity.

Yes, the summer had been real good to her.

As she walked down the hallway, Esmeralda heard people whispering about her and a couple students even pulled out their cellphones and took pictures of her. Though, some girls glared at her as freshmen boys oogled her. Esmeralda smiled flirtatiously at everyone.

However, as she neared the senior hallway, everyone suddenly got really quiet and all eyes diverted to something behind Esmeralda. Esmeralda slowly turned to see Ariel had just arrived. Esmeralda couldn't help staring, too.

_XXX_

Ariel was very aware of all the eyes on her and she kept her own eyes on the floor as she walked. She clutched her binder tightly against her chest, using it as a type of shield; though she knew it offered no real protection.

"That's the one I was telling you about," a girl whispered to her friend as Ariel approached.

"Eric's girlfriend?" the girl's friend asked.

"_Ex_-girlfriend," the first girl corrected.

Her friend snorted. "I don't blame him for breaking up with her after what she did."

Ariel felt hot tears sting the corners of her eyes and she did everything she could to fight them back. She turned down the hallway and the silent judgment from her classmates was deafening. Everyone stared at her as she walked passed, but no one whispered like the other students had done.

They didn't have to. The bold, black word painted on her locker spoke louder than they ever could: _Murderer._


	2. Chapter 2

**Jumpin' Jellyfish! 15 reviews for my first chapter! Thank you all sooooooo much! Here's another chapter for you:**

* * *

The first day back at school sucked. Like, really sucked. Jasmine was convinced that having Aladdin back would make this school year perfect. She was so very wrong. What Aladdin failed to mention was that not only was his father sent back to work at the local branch, but so was Sadira's father. Yup… Sadira was attending Andalasia High now. Not only that, she also had almost every class with Aladdin and two classes with Jasmine. And, Aladdin being the thoughtful son of a bitch that he is, he invited Sadira to sit with them at lunch since she didn't know anybody.

Jasmine just couldn't get rid of her. The worst part, though, was that Aladdin didn't tell her. Imagine Jasmine's complete shock and dismay when she walked into PE and saw Sadira. In that one moment, she had silently called Aladdin every single curse she could think of.

Now it was the end of the day and she was avoiding him. She was angry; she didn't want to be angry with Aladdin, but she couldn't help it. Would it have killed him to give her a little head's up? '_Hey, babe; you know my ex-girlfriend whom you were unhappy about me going to school with? Well, guess what; I brought her back with me! Isn't that great?! Now we can all have lunch together and hang out and be best friends!_'

Jasmine slammed her locker shut and came face to face with Esmeralda.

"Hey, girl!" Esmeralda greeted.

Jasmine smiled brightly at her best friend and pretended to be some starstruck fan. "Oh my god! It's _the _Esmeralda! Can I have your autograph?"

Esmeralda laughed. "You're insane."

Jasmine shrugged. "You're a celebrity and I get to say I was your best friend back when you were nobody."

Esmeralda playfully shoved her. "You're a celebrity, too."

"Not during the school year," Jasmine reminded her. "My dad doesn't allow it."

Esmeralda sighed. "My parents love it. They're totally basking in my fame and loving the attention."

"Just be careful, Es. A lot of people are gonna try to use you."

Esmeralda flipped her black hair over her shoulder. "I know. And I totally plan on using some of those people as well. Do you know how easy it will be for me to get some nerd to do my homework?"

"Esmeralda, that's using your powers for evil."

Esmeralda shrugged. "It's called being efficient. Use what you've got to get ahead." She pulled her sunglasses out of her bag and put them on. "Oh, look! There's Phoebus. I'll catch you later, Jaz."

Jasmine sighed. What happened this summer? How did everything get out of control? First Sadira coming here and now Esmeralda's new behavior… it's like Jasmine was somehow transported into an alternate universe.

And, of course, there's whole thing with everyone calling Ariel a murderer. That made less sense than anything. Jasmine didn't really know Ariel, but she knew of her and she knew Ariel was the most friendly and bubbly person at the school. Sometimes shy and quiet, but not in a creepy way; in an innocent child kind of way. So, what the hell happened over the summer?

_XXX_

"Camelot has always been Andalasia's rival," Phillip informed Aurora.

Aurora nodded. That was an obvious statement. Everyone knew that. It annoyed Aurora that Phillip felt the need to keep telling her the obvious. She half expected him to say, 'Aurora, your hair is blonde.'

She didn't know why Phillip was irritating her so much lately. But since they got back from her mom's last week, it seemed like everything about him was getting on her nerves. Clearly, spending that much time with him had gotten to her. She wanted to bring up the suggestion that maybe they spend a couple days away from each other to recharge, but Phillip was always so excited to see her, that she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Anyway," Phillip continued. "As the senior class president, I want to change that."

Aurora glanced over at him. He was concentrating on driving, but tapping his fingers in the way he usually did when thinking about something important.

"You want to change what?" she asked.

"Being rivals with Camelot. I don't see why we can't be civil towards each other."

"We are civil," Aurora pointed out. "It's not like anybody is TPing the school or stealing mascots or anything."

Phillip shook his head. "That may be so, but it's still completely unheard of for a Dragon and a Knight to be friends."

"That's because Knights slay Dragons," Aurora muttered, remembering a cheer the Camelot cheerleaders often used at games.

"So, this year I'd like to engage with their senior class president and maybe try to organize some sort of event to bring the two schools together."

Aurora reached over and took his hand. "It's admirable that you're trying to do this, but just keep in mind that they may not want to do that."

"I know that. But, I still want to give it a try. What could it really hurt?"

"Nothing, I guess." Aurora sighed. "But, don't be surprised if some people from AHS turn on you for this. A lot of people like the rivalry; it's fun. Every school has to have one; it makes things interesting."

"But, it shouldn't mean that we can't be friends with the kids at that school. We live in two different school districts; it's not like we're the Greeks and the Trojans."

"Or the Capulets and Montagues," Aurora added.

Phillip smiled at her. "Exactly. We can rival each other in sports, but still get along."

It was brave of Phillip to attempt this. This could kill his reputation and maybe even cause a mutiny that would result in him losing his position as president. But, if it was important to him, then she would support him. She could be the Helen to his Paris. Why not? It was their senior year; they _should_ branch out and do new things; make new friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Belle slumped down in the desk, dropping her backpack on the floor next to her. This had to be some kind of AHS record: detention on the first day of school. She should have known this would happen. Girls like her and Jane can't get away with ditching class. They had P.E. last period and didn't see the harm in ditching P.E. to go to the grand opening of the new Starbucks, but Principal Clayton caught them before they even made it out the doors.

Jane walked in the room a minute after Belle and sat down at the desk next to Belle's. They were the only ones there. Of course they were; no one else ever got detention on the first day of school.

Belle didn't recognize the teacher sitting at the large wooden desk in front of the classroom. He was an old man with a bald head, save for some white hair in the back. He had large round glasses set on top of his long, almost pointed, nose. He didn't acknowledge the girls, but just sat at the desk playing chess against himself.

Belle and Jane used the opportunity to get their homework done. But, a few minutes later, Adam walked in. Belle and Adam both seemed equally surprised to see each other.

"What are you doing here?" Belle hissed at Adam as he sat down in front of her.

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied.

Belle blushed. "Jane and I tried ditching P.E. to go to the grand opening of the new Starbucks, but Principal Clayton caught us."

Adam chuckled quietly. "You crack me up, Belle."

Belle leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well? What are _you_ doing here?"

Adam shrugged. "I have Mr. Possible for science and he kept asking me about how I was doing after the whole thing with my dad and it annoyed me-"

"And you lost your temper at your teacher," Belle finished. Adam nodded. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Adam, I thought you got this under control."

"It's not a big deal, Belle."

"Yes it is. You lost your temper at your teacher and got detention. You can't afford to start the school year off like this."

"Do I need to remind you that you're in detention, too?"

Belle rolled her eyes. "For ditching P.E., not for trying to start a fight with my teacher."

"Detention is detention, Belle. Do I need to lecture you about responsibility and proper school ethic?"

Belle narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. She was so angry at him, she didn't even know what to say to him. "Oh, just go… fly a kite!" she spat.

Adam raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you seriously mad at me right now?"

"Yes. I really don't want a repeat of everything that happened last year, Adam."

Jane leaned over the aisle. "Hey. Do you guys mind finishing your fight some other time? I'd really rather not have to come back here tomorrow because you guys can't follow the one rule of detention: no talking."

Belle looked over at the teacher. He was still concentrating on his chess game. She looked back at Adam. "We can finish talking about this tonight."

"Don't count on it." Adam got up out of his seat and walked right out of the classroom.

_XXX_

It felt good to be back at cheerleading practice. But, Rapunzel had to admit that by the time practice ended, she was exhausted. Last summer cheerleading was her only priority, but this summer she had been so busy with Meg and Vanessa's band, that she hardly practiced cheering at all and it showed.

"You were not your best today," Charlotte told Rapunzel as they headed out of the locker room.

"I know," Rapunzel sighed. "This is the first time I've really practiced since Helga kicked me off the squad last year."

Charlotte groaned. "You're killin' me, Punzie."

Rapunzel made a face at the nickname, but didn't say anything about it. "I'll get better, Charlotte. I won't make you regret bringing me back."

"Oh, sugar, don't be silly!" Charlotte linked her arm through Rapunzel's. "I could never regret making you part of the squad again. Just… Don't make me look bad at the game Friday night, okay?"

"I promise."

Charlotte lit up. "Speaking of the game; wanna go watch the football team practice?"

Rapunzel giggled. "Okay."

The girls made their way out to the field and joined the handful of other spectators on the bleachers. They only caught the last few minutes of practice, but Rapunzel could already tell Hercules was going to lead them to one victory after another again this season.

When practice was over, Charlotte bounded down to the field to stroke the ego of some of the players. Rapunzel waited for her on the bleachers since Charlotte was her ride home. Rapunzel rifled around in her backpack and pulled out her copy of _The Scarlet Letter_. In her English class they were starting the semester with the book; Rapunzel had tried reading it during study hall, but found it to be rather boring and couldn't get through the first chapter. But, now it seemed she was going to have some time to kill, so she decided to try again.

She had only gotten through the first page when she heard someone walking up the bleachers towards her. She looked up to see Hercules.

"Hey, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel smiled at him. "Hey. You were lookin' good out there."

Hercules blushed and ran his hand through his wavy hair. "Thanks." He sat down next to her. "How was your summer?"

Rapunzel closed her book. "Hercules, you know how my summer was; you were at every one of our gigs."

Hercules nodded. "You were good."

Rapunzel couldn't help laughing out loud. "You didn't even notice me; you were too busy pining over Meg."

Hercules blushed again. "How, um, is she doing?"

"I honestly don't know. She and I aren't exactly what you'd call friends. We don't talk outside of the band and when we do talk it's only about the band."

"I see."

Rapunzel couldn't ignore the awkwardness between them. "Yeah…"

After a few moments of awkward silence, Hercules cleared his throat. "Is she back with Thomas?"

"No."

Hercules brightened a little. "Is she seeing _anyone_?"

Rapunzel shook her head. "Not that I know of. But, like I said: we don't really talk, so I don't know much about what's going on with her. Although, she did spend a lot of time with John Smith over the summer."

His face fell again. "Oh."

Rapunzel dropped her book back in her bag and stood up. "Look, Hercules; I'm really not the best person to be your middle man. I say either talk to her yourself or just move on. I'm sorry."

"Thanks anyway, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel nodded and started down the bleachers, but turned back to face him. "But, hey; don't be a stranger. We're gonna be seeing each other a lot at games and whatnot this season; there's no reason we can't be friends."

Hercules smiled at her. "Definitely."

"And between friends: you can do better than Meg."


	4. Chapter 4

"Damn it, Meg; get it together!" Vanessa snapped after Meg messed up the chords for the song again.

They had been at band practice for about half an hour now, and they'd been working on the same song the whole time because Meg kept messing up. She was trying to focus, but all she could think about was Thomas. She had gone all summer without seeing him and she was able to focus fully on the band. But seeing him at school today for the first time in a couple months, it just completely threw her off.

"Sorry, guys," Meg muttered.

"What the hell is wrong with you today?" Vanessa demanded.

"Nothing!" Meg snapped. "Get off my back."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Let's take a break. I have the sudden urge to smoke or drink or… pound someone in the face with my microphone."

Jim and Flynn slipped out the side door; Vanessa followed after them, slamming the door behind her.

Meg slipped the guitar strap over her head, then set her guitar on its stand. There was a folding chair set off to the side of the garage and she plopped down on it with a sigh.

"Rough first day at school?" Rapunzel asked, stepping away from her keyboard.

"Something like that."

Rapunzel stood in front of her, hesitantly, and asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

"Nope." Meg wished she'd just go away, but it was obvious Rapunzel had no intention of leaving her alone.

Rapunzel cleared her throat. "So, I- uh- ran into Hercules after cheerleading practice today."

"That's nice."

"He asked about you."

"Ugh. It's been almost a year since we've broken up; he needs to move on."

Rapunzel nodded. "He asked if you were seeing anyone and I told him I don't really know but that you had spent a lot of time with John over the summer."

Meg looked up at her. "Well, now that Thomas is back, I'm sure I won't be spending that much time with John anymore."

Rapunzel shrugged. "I don't see why not. Maybe you and Thomas will get back together. He only broke up with you because of the long distance; perhaps you'll get back together now that he's back."

Meg snorted. "What makes you think I want to get back with him?"

"Just a hunch."

"Well, you're wrong. The little weasel broke up with me for no reason and then took off for the whole summer. I have no interest in dealing with him again."

Rapunzel glared at her. "Screw you, Meg! You'd be _lucky_ to have Thomas. That 'little weasel'- as you call him- is way too good for you. And so is Hercules, for that matter."

"You don't even know me, so why don't you just save your judgment."

"I know you broke my best friend's heart more times than he did yours. You friggin' cheated on him with your ex-boyfriend!"

Meg sprung to her feet and got in Rapunzel's face. "I _never_ cheated on Thomas or even _thought_ about it. I was completely loyal to him the entire time we were together."

"Oh, please! No one believes that!"

"I don't care what anyone believes or thinks."

Rapunzel smirked at her. "Of course you do."

_XXX_

A few tabloid reporters followed Esmeralda and Phoebus to Mickey's diner that evening. They weren't allowed inside and hung around the exit and tried to sneak photos through the windows. Eventually, the manager called the police and they were all forced to leave. Esmeralda and Phoebus hung out in the diner for a half an hour longer afterwards before leaving.

"This has all gotten insane," Phoebus said.

"Insane, but awesome," Esmeralda replied. "I never dreamed I'd be famous."

"You think it's awesome that strangers are following you around everywhere and taking pictures of you?"

"Well, yeah."

"They're stalkers, Essie. I'm not okay with my girlfriend being stalked." Phoebus unlocked his car and flung open the door.

"Reporters are harmless."

"Tell that to Princess Diana."

Esmeralda groaned. "Why can't you just let me enjoy this?"

Phoebus put up his hands. "I don't want to argue about this. Get in the car."

"No. If you're gonna be like this, I'd rather walk."

"Fine." Phoebus got in the car and drove away.

Esmeralda stared after him. "I can't believe he left me here," she muttered. "Jerk."

She started walking down Main Street; she had about a five mile walk to her house. With it being a weeknight, there weren't really many people out. She had hoped to run into someone from school so she could get a ride, but she didn't see anyone she knew.

After a few minutes, though, a car slowed down alongside her and the passenger window rolled down. Esmeralda bent over to look inside the window. A red-haired boy she somewhat recognized from a few of her classes was in the driver's seat. She didn't know his name, though. He always sat in the back of the classroom and never said a word.

"Do you need a ride?" he asked.

Esmeralda smiled at him. "Thank you; that would be great." She slipped into the passenger seat. "My friend ditched me and reporters have been following me all evening."

He pulled away from the curb. "Sounds rough."

Esmeralda nodded. "It has been." She glanced around the car and noticed his backpack sitting on the backseat. The name _Quasimodo_ was scrawled on it in black marker. "So, Quasimodo; you're in my math class, right?"

"Yeah."

"Turn left here. What did you think of that pop quiz today? I mean, I get it was just to see what we remember from last year; but on the first day of school? Come _on_!"

Quasimodo shifted in his seat. "I got an A+."

Esmeralda gaped at him. "_Really_? I got a D. Turn right at the stop sign."

Quasimodo slowed to a stop, then made the turn.

"It's the white one on the left there," Esmeralda told him, pointing out her house. He pulled into the driveway. "Thanks for the ride, Quasimodo."

"You're welcome." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ya know, if you want, I can tutor you this semester."

"Thanks for the offer. But, the problem is: I just don't have time. My schedule is so hectic right now, I'll be lucky if I even have time to study or do my homework. I don't know how I'm going to get through this year. I may have to either quit my new career or drop out of school."

"I've seen your videos; you're a wonderful dancer."

"Thank you. I love dancing. But, I can't dance and do my homework."

Quasimodo ran his hand through his hair. "I can help, if you want. I mean, I could do your homework for you so you can keep dancing _and_ stay in school."

"Would you? Oh, Quasi, that would be so incredible! Thank you!" Esmeralda leaned over and gave him a hug before getting out of the car. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Esmeralda waved to Quasimodo as he drove away from her house. Once he was out sight, she smiled to herself. "That was _too_ easy…"


	5. Chapter 5

Ariel nervously tapped the heel of her sandal on the floor. For the fourth time in the last five minutes, she shifted uncomfortably in the plastic chair in the office. She slouched down, hoping if she sank low enough in the chair no one would be able to see her.

It wasn't working.

She felt eyes on her, but she didn't dare look up. She focused her blue eyes on the glitter nail polish on her toenails. Andrina took her to get a pedicure last night in hopes of cheering Ariel up. It didn't help, but at least her physical appearance didn't mirror her hopeless state of mind.

"Ariel." Principal Clayton stepped out of the guidance counselor's office. He motioned for her to come into the office by wagging two fingers.

Keeping her eyes on the floor, she picked up her backpack and walked into Captain Amelia's office.

"Ariel, have a seat," Amelia told her.

Ariel obediently sat as Principal Clayton stood beside the desk.

"Ariel, do you know why Principal Clayton set up this appointment?" Amelia asked. Ariel didn't acknowledge the question. She fixed her gaze on a photo of Amelia in her Navy uniform.

"We're aware of what happened yesterday," Principal Clayton said. "I saw your locker and I know you ditched school yesterday before first period even started."

Amelia cleared her throat and folded her hands on top of her desk. "Ariel, can you explain to us why your classmates would paint the word _murderer_ on your locker?"

Ariel didn't say anything.

"Bullying is not tolerated at this school," Principal Clayton added. "If you know who did this, you need to tell us."

Amelia touched the principal's arm to calm him. "Ariel, I spoke with your father last night. He did not give us any details about your situation. However, he believes you would benefit from weekly meetings with me." Ariel gave the guidance counselor a wary look. "I know that's last thing you want. But whatever it is you're going through must be serious enough for your father to suggest it."

Ariel groaned. Of course this was her dad's idea. She refused to talk to anyone about what happened, so naturally he'd force her to. Why didn't parents understand that forcing their kid to talk about something was not the way to handle things?

"We'll meet on Mondays before school. Does that work for you?" Amelia asked. Ariel didn't reply, but Amelia nodded anyway as if Ariel had just agreed. They both knew Ariel had no choice in that matter.

"Very well," Principal Clayton said. "Go to class, Ariel."

Still clutching the strap of her backpack, Ariel practically ran out of the office. She was halfway to her health class when she suddenly tripped over someone's outstretched leg. She fell hard on her stomach and let out a small moan of pain.

Loud laughter rang through the empty hallway. Ariel got to her knees and looked up at Vanessa and Meg. Vanessa was laughing while Meg looked like she couldn't be less interested in Ariel.

Vanessa crouched down so she was eye level with Ariel. "What did you think of my artwork on your locker?" She lowered her voice and leaned close to Ariel. "I know everything."

_XXX_

Jasmine glared hard at Sadira from across the tennis court. Why weren't actual daggers flying from her eyes? It would give Jasmine great pleasure to see Sadira lying bloody on the tennis court.

Sadira's tennis partner, Tinkerbell, served. Jasmine's partner, Phoebus, hit the ball back with ease. Tinkerbell dove for it, but missed.

"Nice hit," Jasmine congratulated him.

Tinkerbell tossed the ball over the net to them and Phoebus caught it. "Thanks. Your serve, Jasmine," he said, bouncing the ball towards her.

Jasmine snatched the ball in thin air and took position. Sadira was in front of her, waiting. Without thinking, Jasmine served the ball over head, hitting it as hard as she could. It flew over the net and hit Sadira square in the nose.

Sadira dropped her racket and her hands flew to her face. Tinkerbell rushed to her side, but became pale at the sight of the blood gushing down her face. Phoebus laughed out loud and gave Jasmine a high-five. Jasmine bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud as well, but she couldn't stop a smile from forming.

"Jasmine! Phoebus!" Coach Phil bellowed. "Give me a lap! Both of you!"

Jasmine and Phoebus handed the coach their rackets then jogged across the grass to the track to run the lap.

"Totally worth it," Jasmine told Phoebus.

Phoebus chuckled and shook his head. "I didn't know you had it in you. What did the new girl do to you, anyway?"

"She's Aladdin's ex-girlfriend. Aladdin's still friends with her and he wants me to be friends with her, too."

"Odd situation."

Jasmine snorted. "You're telling me. I hate it. It's only the second day of school and it seems like everything is out of balance."

Phoebus pulled slightly ahead of Jasmine as they rounded the first corner. He waited for her to catch up before saying, "Like Esmeralda."

"You've noticed the change in her, too?"

Phoebus nodded. "I left her at the diner last night after we got into a disagreement about the paparazzi following her around. I told her I didn't like it and she thought I was being unreasonable."

"Fame has a way of changing people."

Phoebus was quiet as they rounded the final turn. Finally he said, "If she doesn't change back, I'm gonna have to end things with her. I don't like who she's become."

"Have you told her that?"

"No. If I tell her, she'll just think I'm giving her an ultimatum. I'm just gonna let things play out."

They finished the lap and came to a stop. "I'm sure she'll come around. Fifteen minutes of fame always come to an end eventually," Jasmine told him.

Phoebus sighed as they walked back towards the tennis courts. "She's talented and deserves to be successful. She just needs to change her behavior."

Jasmine stopped him. "Hey. Do you wanna ditch our significant others tonight and Netflix The Walking Dead together?"

"That sounds great, actually."

Jasmine nodded in agreement. "Great. Come over for dinner and I'll get a pizza. But, leave your phone at home. We're gonna have a completely Esmeralda-and-Aladdin-free night."


	6. Chapter 6

Aurora paced back and forth outside of the choir room. Each time she passed the door, she peeked through the skinny window. Mrs. Rabbit was talking to a freshman student and had been for the last ten minutes. Aurora skipped lunch to talk to Mrs. Rabbit and she was becoming impatient.

When the choir room door finally opened, Aurora barreled in, practically knocking the freshman on her butt. Mrs. Rabbit stood by the piano, organizing sheet music.

"Hello, Aurora," Mrs. Rabbit greeted. "How can I help you?"

"I gotta know: what's the fall play for this year?"

"Ah." Mrs. Rabbit nodded. "There will be no fall play this year."

The color drained from Aurora's face and she felt her jaw drop. "Please tell me you're joking."

Mrs. Rabbit chuckled. "Relax, Aurora. Principal Clayton has requested that instead of a fall play we put on a Christmas play instead. He's having a big Christmas weekend at the school this year full of activities and he wants us to put on A Christmas Carol to kick off the first night. Auditions will be in October."

"_October_?" Aurora cried. "What am I supposed to do until then?"

"It's only a few weeks. I'm sure you'll survive."

"I don't think I will," Aurora stated.

Mrs. Rabbit put her hand on Aurora's shoulder and ushered her towards the door. "You'll be fine. Now, I've got a lot of stuff to for choir. Go to lunch."

Aurora nodded. She sighed when Mrs. Rabbit closed the door behind her. Aurora was all set to spend the rest of the afternoon sulking- until she saw Eric walking down the hall.

She ran after him. As soon as she caught up to him she spun him around and pulled him into a tight hug. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Eric remained limp in her arms. "Fine."

Aurora stepped back. "I haven't seen you since everything happened. You don't look fine."

"I really don't want to talk about it, Aurora."

"Of course. I'm sorry." Aurora nervously nibbled on her lip, tasting her strawberry lipgloss. "How's Ariel?"

Anger clouded his blue eyes. "I haven't talked to her."

"Why not?"

"How can you even ask that? Look what she's done to me."

He was right. Eric was obviously completely destroyed; hurt beyond words and barely able to function. He didn't even show up for school yesterday and this was the first time she'd seen him that day, despite the fact they were supposed to have English together.

Aurora gingerly touched his cheek, then pushed her fingers through his hair. "Listen to me, Eric. I know you don't want to talk and most likely just want to be left alone. But, I'm here if you need anything. Even if you just want to yell and scream and swear at someone. I mean it- anything at all, just text or call me and I'll be there in a heartbeat. You're my friend and I love you."

Eric's eyes became watery and he looked away. "Thanks."

Aurora pulled him into another hug. His head fell heavily on her shoulder and he gripped the back of her shirt. He remained still, but she could feel a slight wetness on her shoulder. She knew he let a couple tears escape and it ripped her heart out. In that moment, Aurora hated Ariel.

_XXX_

Belle poked her salad with the plastic spork. "I'm grounded."

Adam nodded as he chewed the large bite of sloppy joe. "That's what happens when you get detention for ditching."

Belle rolled her eyes and dropped the spork onto her plate. "Jane didn't get grounded."

"Yeah. Well, Jane's father is… _eccentric_, to say the least. He has a different approach to parenting than your dad does."

"Right. So this weekend, while Jane is out with Tarzan, I'll be stuck at home instead of spending time with you."

"Unless you sneak out." Adam winked at her.

"Oh, sure. That'll go over well with my dad."

"He'll never know."

"Of course he will! I can never get away with anything."

"One night, Belle. Rapunzel's band is playing at Pleasure Island Saturday night and we should go."

"I can't."

"You're not allowed," Adam corrected. "But, you definitely _can_."

"Fine. I don't want to," Belle stated. "I don't want to get into any more trouble."

"You'll be fine. Just trust me."

Belle groaned. "I don't think so. We can go to Pleasure Island next weekend."

Adam pushed both of their plates off to the side, then leaned over the table and rested his forehead against hers. "_Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or silly action for no other reason than because he knows he should not?_" he whispered.

Belle fought back a smile. "Just because Edgar Allan Poe is what brought us together, that does not mean you can use his quotes against me to manipulate me."

Adam smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. "It's working, isn't it?"

"No." She tried to sound firm, but she was wavering and she knew Adam could tell.

Adam brushed his lips across hers. "Yes it is."

"Sit down, Adam."

He smiled again. "Just admit I won."

"Never."

"Tell you what." Adam kissed her forehead. "I'll play you for it. I challenge you to a round of mini golf Saturday night. If you win, you don't have to sneak out with me. But, if I win, then you have to sneak out and go to Pleasure Island with me."

"Deal." Adam laughed. When Belle realized what just happened, she glared at her boyfriend. "You tricked me."

"I can't believe how easily you fell for that."

Belle blushed. "Yeah, well… I can't think clearly when you're this close to me."

"Nonetheless, a deal's a deal. You're going to Pleasure Island with me Saturday night."

Belle sighed and pushed him away from her. "Fine. I'll go. But, if I get caught and get into even more trouble, I'm grounding you from spending time with me outside of school for a month."

"You wouldn't last that long. But, sure. I'll play along. One month."

Belle stuck her tongue at him. "I'm serious. If I get caught, it's on you."

"You won't get caught, Belle. I'll take care of you. I promise."


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm so glad you're back," Rapunzel told Thomas. "I missed you."

Thomas tore his eyes away from something over Rapunzel's shoulder. "Yeah. Me too."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "You're distracted, aren't you? If I turn around, I better not see a certain brunette." She stared at him, challenging him to deny it. He held her gaze for a moment, but then looked down. "I knew it! Thomas, you gotta get over her."

"I _was_ over her," Thomas protested. "Until I saw her again. It's easy not to think about someone when you don't see them for three months."

Rapunzel leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "Thomas, Hercules is still after her and now Helga's gone. So…"

"I'm not going to pursue Meg. I broke up with her, it's done."

Rapunzel nodded in approval. "Good. You can do so much better."

"Like who?"

"I don't know," Rapunzel admitted. "But, there's gotta be a long list of girls who are better for you than Meg."

"You're biased. You never liked her."

"True."

"Well, don't worry; I'm not getting involved with that drama again."

"Good call."

Thomas looked over at Meg again. "Still…"

"No! You're done. Go find yourself a rebound and move on."

Thomas laughed. "Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you." Rapunzel picked up her sloppy joe sandwich. "Anyway. How was your summer?"

"Boring. Literally all I did was work in the mail room. I didn't know anybody, so when I wasn't at work, I just hung out at my dad's the whole time."

Rapunzel eyed him suspiciously. "You lied to me."

"What are you talking about?"

Rapunzel shoved her tray away from her and dropped her head in her hands. "You thought about Meg all summer, didn't you?"

"No-"

"Don't lie to me again. I know you did. You had all that time on your hands; what else would you do? You thought about her and wondered if she was with Hercules. You probably drove yourself crazy. You're hopeless."

"Oh, come on! You can't blame me. I loved her, Rapunzel. And we didn't exactly end things on good terms." Thomas ran his hand through his hair. "She was so mad at me. I hurt her."

"So? God knows she hurt you plenty."

"She didn't cheat on me. Hercules made the only thing up."

"He also said he lied about that, remember?" Rapunzel pointed out.

"I believe her."

Rapunzel picked up her sloppy joe again and took a big bite. "Here we go again."

"I already told you: I'm not getting involved with that again. I just need some closure. It'll do us both good."

The bell rang and Rapunzel dropped her sandwich back on the tray. "Just keep this in mind: you're my best friend and I'm in a band with her, so inevitably I'm gonna get caught in the middle of this."

"It's called _closure _for a reason. I need this to move on."

Thomas and Rapunzel tossed out their garbage and headed out of the cafeteria. "You're powerless against that body and those purple eyes. Just admit it: you're not strong enough to be face to face with her again."

"I'll prove you wrong. Meg doesn't mean anything to me anymore."

_XXX_

"…Meg doesn't mean anything to me anymore."

Meg hadn't meant to be eavesdropping, but she couldn't help hearing Thomas as he and Rapunzel walked passed her.

Meg's heart sank. She hadn't been hoping to get back together with him, not after how things ended. But, she also hadn't expected him to hate her.

"Meg." A strong hand seized her wrist. On instinct, she pulled away. When she saw it was Hercules, she realized her instinct had been correct.

"Leave me alone, Hercules. I don't know how many times I have to say that before you finally get it."

"I need to talk to you. Now."

"No."

"Please? Just hear me out. Afterwards, if you still hate me, I'll leave you alone."

Meg studied him. "You swear?"

"I swear."

Meg led him away from the crowd leaving the cafeteria. "All right. But, make it quick."

"I never wanted to be with Helga. She kinda blackmailed me into it."

Meg rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. That's ridiculous. What could she have possibly had over you?"

Hercules shifted his weight awkwardly. "Actually, it's what she had over you."

Meg couldn't help laughing out loud. "Let me get this straight: you're expecting me to believe that you cheated on me with Helga because she had something on _me_? Yeah, right. Even if that's true, why wouldn't you just come to me first? Why was your first instinct to cheat on me?"

"She came to me at the Homecoming dance. She told me she knew about you hooking up with Gaston-"

"What?" Meg hissed. "How did she find out about that?"

"I don't know. But, she told me if I didn't leave you for her, she was going to tell Vanessa. I knew how much your friendship with Vanessa meant to you, so I agreed. She wanted me to prove I was going to follow through-"

"So you slept with her." Meg's breathing became heavy in anger. "But Vanessa stopped being friends with me as soon as we broke up. You could have come clean then. And why didn't you just tell me what was happening at the dance. Why humiliate me like that?"

"I didn't want to ruin any chance you might have had at being friends with Vanessa again, so I stayed with Helga. And I tried telling you, but you wouldn't listen to me."

Meg wanted to lash out at him. She bit her lip to keep from doing so; she bit it so hard she drew blood. For some reason, she hated him even more now. "Vanessa wasn't with Gaston when he and I hooked up. We didn't do anything wrong. You should have just let Helga tell her. But, instead, you humiliated me, ruined my reputation and put Helga in position where she always had something to use against me."

"I thought I was doing the right thing. I'm so sorry."

Meg held up her hand to stop him from saying anything. She shook her head and just walked away. It didn't matter what his intentions were, it didn't excuse him from what he did. She would never forgive him.


	8. Chapter 8

Esmeralda looked up at Lady Tremaine's modeling studio through her windshield. She tapped her newly manicured nail against the small bottle of Jack Daniels she had stored in her glove compartment from the hotel party she attended last weekend. She didn't particularly like the taste of the whiskey, but it was the only alcohol she had available to her at the moment and her nerves needed it.

Esmeralda hadn't seen Lady Tremaine or her former agent, Maleficent, since last semester when she became bulimic to fit their idea of beauty. It was a dark time for her and she still harbored resentment towards the women. She had been wanting to confront them for so long, but never had the courage. She didn't know why.

Esmeralda unscrewed the cap and took a quick swig of the whiskey. She made a face before replacing the cap and dropping the bottle in her purse. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open her car door and started across the parking lot. Lady Tremaine's Porsche was parked diagonally in a handicap parking spot while Maleficent's black BMW was parked on the other side of the parking lot, far from the other cars in the lot.

Esmeralda pulled open the side door and walked into the dimly lit studio. A petite girl around Esmeralda's age walked passed in a hurry. She was wearing a tiny pleated skirt and a bikini top that showed off her rib cage. She was talking to another model in a similar outfit about how brilliant Lady Tremaine was. Esmeralda resisted the urge to laugh out loud. A year ago, Esmeralda thought the same thing; now she knew better.

"Esmeralda, darling!" Renowned fashion designer, Cruella De Vil, breezed up to Esmeralda and air-kissed her cheek. Cruella owned the popular clothing store, De Vil's; which Esmeralda had worked at sophomore and junior year. "It's been _ages_ since I've seen you. You look fantastic!"

"Thank you, Miss De Vil."

Cruella wrapped a cold, bony hand around Esmeralda's arm, causing Esmeralda to flinch. "Come, darling. Maleficent and Lady Tremaine will want to see you."

Esmeralda let Cruella lead her to a photoshoot in progress where the models she had seen earlier were posing on fake beach set.

Maleficent saw her first. "Esmeralda, you've returned," she stated.

This caught Lady Tremaine's attention. She lowered her camera and turned around. "I was wondering when you'd come back."

Esmeralda frowned. "I'm not-"

"You must let me represent you again," Maleficent told her. "Now that you've actually made a name for yourself, you can finally be of some use to me."

Esmeralda glared hard at her. "You will never represent me again. I made myself _sick_ for you and I _still_ wasn't good enough for you! But, suddenly I'm good enough because I'm famous?"

Lady Tremaine rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, Esmeralda. You're where you are because of us. No one knew who you were until you started working for us."

Esmeralda laughed in disbelief. "I got where I am because of my talent. Because of my dancing; _not_ because I showed off my ribs in a magazine ad. I'm not a size 0, I'm not even a size 2, but guess what! It doesn't matter! I can be successful without being stick-thin." Esmeralda turned her attention to the two models who were staring at her in shock. "Not that there's anything wrong with being skinny."

Maleficent advanced towards her, signaling a nearby security guard. "Honestly, Esmeralda: who do you think you are?"

Esmeralda stepped away from her and held up her hand. "Don't worry, I'll see myself out."

Cruella called out to her as she walked passed, but Esmeralda ignored her. She stepped out of the studio, letting the door slam shut; forever blocking those women of fashion from ever bringing her down again. And that moment was totally worth ditching PE for.

_XXX_

"Ariel!"

Ariel kept her eyes on the sidewalk and didn't acknowledge Aurora yelling after her. Aurora's high-heeled sandals clicked nosily against the sidewalk as she ran after Ariel.

"Hey!" Aurora shoved Ariel from behind, causing Ariel to stumble forward.

Ariel caught herself before falling and turned to face Aurora. "_What_?" she snapped.

"How _dare_ you! Do you have any idea what you've done to Eric?" Aurora demanded.

Ariel clenched her jaw. She was completely fed up with the way everyone was treating her. "Eric will get over it."

Aurora gaped at her former friend. "Get over it?! How cold can you _be_, Ariel? He's not just going to get over you murdering his baby!"

"Oh my God!" Ariel cried. "I didn't 'murder' anyone. I was only a few weeks pregnant when I had the abortion. Stop trying to make it sound like I killed the baby after it was born."

"That baby was just as much Eric's as it was yours; you had no right to do what you did. And you certainly had no right to do it without even talking to Eric about it first."

"It's _my_ body, not his."

"It's _not_ about your body, you selfish bitch! It's about your guys' unborn _child_!" Aurora cried. "Eric will _never_ forgive you for this."

"I'm barely eighteen, Aurora! This is _my_ life and I have every right to be selfish when it comes to how I live it. I can't have a child to take care of and raise before I even graduate high school. I'm sorry Eric is hurting, I truly am. And I hate that I lost him over this. But I was not going to throw away my entire future just to save a high school romance." Ariel took a step towards Aurora. "Everyone can hate me all they want and say whatever they want about me behind my back. And even harass me at school. I. Don't. Care. In eight months, I'll be gone and I will never see any of you again. So, if you all want to hold a grudge against me, that's your burden, not mine."

Aurora narrowed her purple eyes at Ariel. "Your burden is knowing you betrayed and destroyed the boy who loved you. You've scarred him deeper than you know, Ariel."

"And I have to live with that. But I'll take being weighed down by guilt over being tied down by a child any day." Ariel took a deep breath and sighed. "I love Eric and I know this is it for us. And it hurts and it sucks that this is how it all played out. But, I had to do this. And a year from now, it's not even going to matter. Eric will be away at college with his new girlfriend and he won't even think twice about the shy choir girl he dated briefly in high school. I did him a favor, Aurora. If I had kept the baby, he would have been obligated to marry me and raise the child with me; everything he had planned for his life would become nothing more than unfulfilled dreams of a teenager. That would lead to resentment towards me and our child when he's stuck at a job he hates but can't leave because he has to support the family he was forced into." Ariel lowered her eyes. "Believe me, Aurora: I thought about it long and hard before making the decision. I didn't act on impulse."

Aurora was quiet for a moment before saying, "You can try to justify it any way you want, but what you did was despicable and you know it. That was a decision you and Eric should have made together."

Ariel shook her head. "I don't have to defend myself to you or anyone else. It's done and it doesn't matter what anyone has to say about it. Just leave me alone, Aurora."

Ariel spun on her heel and started walking away. She anxiously held her breath and didn't let it out until she heard Aurora walking away in the opposite direction. Only then did she let herself cry.


	9. Chapter 9

"Good afternoon, Thumbelina!" Belle called out when she got to work after school.

There weren't any customers in the book store and Thumbelina was doing her homework at the counter. She looked up when Belle came in and greeted her with a smile. "Hello, Belle! How was your second day of school?"

Belle joined Thumbelina behind the counter and dropped her backpack on the floor. "Uneventful. I had a lot of homework, but I managed to get most of it done in study hall."

Thumbelina groaned. "You're lucky. I don't have study hall this semester. Like an idiot, I waited until senior year to take applying for college seriously; so now I have to take a bunch of classes that will look good on applications. Like trigonometry." She tapped on her trig textbook with her pencil. "I completed the graduation requirements for math credits and totally wasn't planning on taking math this year at all; but my parents insisted, so here I am."

"I feel for ya," Belle said. "Fortunately, I worked hard all through high school so I don't have to cram anything in this year. Just the basics."

"I envy you, Belle."

"Don't. It came with a price. I barely had a social life the last three years."

"But, you still managed to get a boyfriend," Thumbelina pointed out.

Belle smiled and reached up to where she had Adam's class ring hanging from a chain around her neck. "That's true. Ya know, I spent every single day of the summer with him _and _I saw him at school today, but I still miss him right now."

"Of course you do, Belle; you're in love." Thumbelina leaned over the counter and rested her chin in her hand. "What I wouldn't give to have a boyfriend."

"It'll happen for you. Isn't there someone you like?"

"Well, sure. But it'll never happen. He's hot and popular and I'm completely average in every aspect."

"That's not true. You're adorable."

Thumbelina smiled at her. "Thanks. But, boys don't want adorable. They want hot and beautiful."

"If this boy that you like is that superficial, then he's a loser and you don't want to be with him anyway."

Thumbelina laughed. "That's easy for you to say, you haven't seen him." She sighed. "I just need a way to get his attention."

"Just ask him out, Thumbelina," Belle told her.

The small red head gaped at her. "Have you lost your mind? I can't just ask him out! What if he says no? I'll be totally humiliated."

Belle shrugged. "It was just a suggestion."

"It's easy for you to be confident, Belle. You're beautiful. But us normal girls struggle when it comes to dating. We have to compete with girls like you and guess who the boys always choose…"

"You're being over dramatic."

"I'm not."

"I don't think you're giving boys enough credit," Belle stated. "There are boys out there who want more from a girlfriend than just a pretty face."

"Ha! What planet are _you_ living on?"

Belle rolled her eyes. "Well, you certainly aren't gonna get anywhere with _that _attitude."

Thumbelina waved her hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I've got, like, twelve hours of homework to do every night. I won't have time for dating."

"There are always study dates and private tutoring. Tutoring is how Adam and I got together."

Thumbelina tapped her pencil against her lip as she thought about that. "That could work if Cornelius wasn't barely squeaking by on a D-average."

Belle laughed. "I guess that won't work. But, I still think you should just ask him out. Homecoming is in a few weeks, isn't?"

"It is."

"So ask him to the dance."

Thumbelina wrinkled her nose, then groaned. "Fine. But, if he says no, I'm coming over to your house and forcing you to watch sappy rom-coms with me while devouring ice cream and cookie dough."

Belle laughed again. "Deal."

_XXX_

Aurora was just getting home when her phone rang. It was Phillip. Again. She thought about not answering it; after her altercation with Ariel, she wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone. But, it was his third call since school let out and he seemed urgent to talk to her.

"Hey, sweetie. What's up?" Aurora greeted.

"There you are. What happened to you after school?"

Aurora shifted her backpack and purse to one hand and cradled her phone against her shoulder as she tried to unlock her front door. "I'm at home."

"Oh good. I'm about to pull on your street. I'm meeting with the class president of Camelot High and I'd like to have you there for support."

Aurora sighed and dropped her backpack on the floor, then walked back outside and locked up. "All right. I'll see you in a minute."

As soon as Aurora hung up, she saw Phillip's car driving down the street towards her house. She met him on the street so he wouldn't have to pull into the driveway.

"Where are we going?" Aurora asked when he turned off her street.

"Mickey's. I think he's bringing the VP as well."

Aurora nodded. "What's his name again? The president?"

"Proteus," Phillip reminded her. "I don't know who the VP is, though."

"Why didn't you bring John? He's _your_ VP, right?"

"He is. But, you know John; he's too hard-headed and stubborn to go along with this."

"Good point."

Mickey's was crowded with the usual after school crowd. Most of the students were filling up the outside tables, so Phillip and Aurora chose to sit inside. Phillip scanned the diner, then headed towards a table in the back where two guys were sitting. One had light brown hair with a muscular body under a tight t-shirt; the other had short black hair, tan skin and a thin body under a white button up shirt.

"Hey, Phillip," the boy with the brown hair greeted.

Phillip nodded a hello as he and Aurora sat down across from them. "Proteus, this my girlfriend, Aurora."

The boy with brown hair smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Aurora." He motioned at the boy next to him. "This is the vice president, Ramses."

"Thanks for meeting with me," Phillip told them. "Since we talked last night, I've actually been giving some thought to an event to bring our schools together."

Proteus smiled. He smiled a lot, Aurora noticed. And it was a nice smile. "Good to hear," he said. "I think trying to bring our schools together is great idea. I wish I had thought of it first."

Phillip beamed. "I'm glad we're in agreement. Now, at first, I thought of having a dance. But, with that chances are there wouldn't be a lot of interaction among the students from the different schools. Plus, I'm not sure if either school's gym would be big enough to fit both senior classes."

Proteus nodded in agreement. "I see your point. Did you come up with another idea?"

"I did. And I think a lock-in would be fun."

"A lock-in?" Aurora repeated.

"Yeah. Both senior classes will be locked in one of the high schools and stay the night. It'll force everyone to interact with each other."

Proteus laughed. "That's brilliant!"

"Thanks, Proteus."

"Which school should host the lock-in?" Ramses asked.

"Since it was your idea, Phillip, I think it should be held at AHS," Proteus said.

"Wait a second," Aurora interjected. "What if no one goes for it? How are you going to get all of the seniors from both schools to agree to be locked in the school over night with each other? And even if you do, who's to say they're all gonna get along? This has the potential to be a disaster."

"She has a point," Ramses said.

"You do, babe," Phillip agreed. "If it doesn't go the way we plan, then we won't try to force it again."

"I say we go for it," Proteus announced. "At the very least, it promises to be an interesting night."


	10. Chapter 10

Rapunzel would have given anything to have Meg gone. It was a strange feeling since she had never truly disliked anyone before Meg fell in to Thomas' life. How Thomas and Hercules could both be hung up on this girl, baffled Rapunzel. Sure, she was hot, but she was bad news. She was a cheater and a bitch and her best friends were Vanessa, Hades and Gaston- the worst kids in school. The sooner Thomas got his closure from her and moved on, the better. Meg was snake's venom and she needed to be sucked out of Thomas' life before she killed him.

Rapunzel hammered out the last notes of _"Uma Thurman" _by Fall Out Boy and Meg's garage became quiet.

"Great practice!" Vanessa announced. "We're gonna rock Saturday night."

"That's all for tonight," Meg told them, as she set her guitar on the stand. "But, remember: we're practicing every day this week to get ready for Saturday night, so everyone needs to be back here tomorrow."

Rapunzel turned off her keyboard and walked over to where Flynn was crouched on the floor, putting his bass in its case. Vanessa, Meg and Jim headed out the side door, leaving the two of them alone.

"I can't believe we're actually playing at Pleasure Island," Flynn said, standing up.

"Yeah," Rapunzel agreed.

Flynn arched an eyebrow at her. "Are you all right? You've seemed distracted since lunch."

Rapunzel shrugged. "I guess I am, a little. I don't think Thomas is over Meg. And it drives me crazy because he can do _so_ much better than her."

"That's not really your call, babe."

Rapunzel shook her head. "I know. But, someone's gotta look after him."

Flynn laughed and put his arm over her shoulders. "No they don't. He's seventeen; he can take care of himself. Ya know, there comes a point in every mother's life where she has to let go and-"

Rapunzel swatted him away. "Shut up! I'm not acting like his mother!"

"You're trying to control who he dates," Flynn pointed out.

Rapunzel sighed. "I just don't want him to get hurt again. And she's going to hurt him if he gets back with her."

"He'll live." Flynn shrugged. "Besides, maybe it's not a relationship he's after."

Rapunzel eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Meg's hot. And she's been around, I'm guessing. Sex with her was probably awesome. I'm sure that's all Thomas is after."

Rapunzel gaped at her boyfriend, stunned. "I don't know what bothers me more: the fact that you think about sex with Meg or that you honestly think Thomas would do _that_ with _her_."

Flynn laughed out loud. "Of course he did. Look at her."

"Thomas did _not _have sex with Meg." Rapunzel shuttered in disgust. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop saying she's hot. _I'm _your girlfriend, remember?"

Flynn wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. "Relax. I have no interest in doing anything with Meg; I'm just stating a fact. She's hot and that's why he isn't over her; you don't have to worry about him being in love with her or anything."

Rapunzel stepped away from him. "I know you _think_ you're helping, but you're really not. So, let's just stop talking about Meg."

"Fair enough. You wanna go get something to eat?"

"I can't. I have get home and do a little extra cheerleading practice; I'm so far behind the other girls and we have a game Friday night."

Flynn led Rapunzel out the side door of the garage and out to his car. "How does it feel to be back on the squad?"

"Amazing!" Rapunzel opened the passenger side door and got in. "It feels great to have some normalcy back. And the squad is way better with Charlotte as the captain instead of Helga."

Flynn chuckled as he backed out of the driveway. "The whole school is better without Helga."

_XXX_

Jasmine was just paying for the pizzas she ordered when Phoebus pulled into her driveway. She waved and left the front door open as she headed inside. She set the pizzas on the floor in front of the couch where she had already set out some plates and napkins. Phoebus came in a few seconds later, closing the door behind him.

"What do you want to drink?" Jasmine asked him.

Phoebus plopped down on the floor. "Whatever you've got is fine."

Jasmine nodded and walked into the kitchen. By the time she got a couple bottles of Coke and returned to the living room, Phoebus had demolished two slices of the sausage pizza. Jasmine handed him a Coke and sat down next to him. She grabbed her Roku remote and pulled up Netflix. She scrolled through her recently watched titles until she found _The Walking Dead_.

"How much have you seen?" Jasmine asked him.

"All of it. I watch it every week when it's new."

Jasmine nodded. "I just started watching it over the summer. I think I'm about halfway through season four."

"That's fine." Phoebus leaned over and grabbed another slice of pizza.

Jasmine queued up the next episode and pressed play. "So, you got any plans for Labor Day weekend this weekend?"

Phoebus thought for a moment as he chewed his pizza. "Not really."

"Flynn's band is playing at Pleasure Island Saturday night. I think we're going."

"That's cool. Last night Esmeralda mentioned having a pool party on Labor Day. Not sure where, though, since she doesn't have a pool."

Jasmine felt her stomach sink. "Shoot."

"What's the matter?"

"She's gonna ask to have it here; I guarantee it." Jasmine shook her head and dropped her crust on the box. "Well, not ask. _Insist_."

"It could be fun."

"No way. There'll end up being alcohol and my dad will kill me. My dad has a zero tolerance for alcohol. He'll completely cut me off from his money."

Phoebus winced. "That's rough."

Jasmine slumped back against the couch. "So much for an Esmeralda-free night."

"I'll deal with it later. No more talk of relationship drama tonight."

Jasmine picked up a slice of cheese pizza. "So how are things with you, ya know, otherwise?"

Phoebus closed the now empty sausage pizza box. "I can't complain."

"Oh, good; glad to hear it. Are you still doin' that whole MMA thing?"

Phoebus nodded as he started in on the cheese pizza. "I'm surprised you even knew that."

"Esmeralda told me about it when you first started dating. She said you had taken her to the roof of the gym on Valentine's Day."

Phoebus nodded, his eyes fixed on the screen where Michonne and Carl were searching for supplies in a neighborhood. "Well, I'm still doing it. I was undefeated this summer. I actually have a meet next weekend."

"That's cool. Is Esmeralda gonna go."

"No. I can't even tell you the last time she came to one of my meets."

Jasmine bit her lip. "I'm sorry."

Phoebus chuckled and shook his head. "Don't be. It's no big deal."

An uncomfortable silence fell over them. It was only then that Jasmine realized she didn't know what else to talk to him about. They had never really hung out alone before- it was always during double dates and Esmeralda and Aladdin were always there. Jasmine didn't really know anything about him.

"We should hang out more," Jasmine said.

Phoebus looked over at her. "I'd like that."


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Ariel swiftly maneuvered the hallways, doing her best to avoid everyone. She tried to get to school early, but Andrina had taken too long in the bathroom and Ariel left later than she planned. The hallways were already crowded, but, fortunately, the underclassmen didn't know who she was or what she did. They ignored her as she bustled passed them on her way to the senior hallway.

_Only eight more months left of school_, Ariel thought when she reached her locker. The janitor had to repaint her locker, but at least now that ugly word was no longer splayed out across her locker door. Of course, there really wasn't anything stopping Vanessa- or anyone else- for tagging her locker again.

As the other seniors started to fill the hallway, Ariel kept her head down and worked her combination. When she opened her locker, a half a dozen bloody baby dolls fell out of her locker and landed at her feet. Ariel gasped and stepped backwards. With a shaky hand, Ariel picked up one of the dolls. Up close she saw the dolls didn't have actual blood on them- just paint. Ariel gathered up the dolls and dropped them in the nearby trashcan.

"Tell me, Ariel," Gothel said from her locker on the other side of the trashcan. "After you killed your baby, did you throw_ it_ away, too?"

Hades came up to Gothel. "What's going on?"

Gothel motioned towards Ariel. "Just Ariel throwing away more babies."

Hades peered into the trashcan, then looked at Ariel. "That's messed up."

Ariel blushed and hurried back to her locker. She gathered what she needed for her morning classes, then got out of the senior hallway as fast as she could. She kept her eyes on the floor as she ran to her next class, so no one would see the tears forming in her eyes.

Ariel suddenly crashed hard into someone and they both stumbled to the floor.

"I'm sorry," Ariel whispered.

"Ariel?"

Ariel looked up and couldn't believe her eyes: it was her childhood best friend, Urchin. The two of them had been super close as kids and did everything together. But, then one day in grade school he and his parents moved away and she never saw him again. Until now.

"Urchin? It can't be!" Ariel exclaimed, suddenly forgetting all about the dolls that had been left in her locker. "What are you doing here?"

Urchin held out his hand and helped Ariel to her feet. "My mom got a job at Andalasia University, so we moved back to town."

Ariel was overcome with joy, not only to see her friend again, but also just to see a friendly face. She couldn't refrain from giving him a big hug. Urchin laughed and hugged her back.

"It's so good to see you," Ariel told him.

Ariel took a step back and really looked at him. Urchin still had the same handsome face he had as a boy, but his now muscular body was a far cry from the skinny little boy he used to be. And instead of his blonde hair being neatly tamed like before, it was now shaggy and tousled.

"You look great," she told him.

Urchin gave her a crooked grin. "So, do you. You grew up nice, Ariel."

Ariel blushed. The first bell rang, startling her back to reality. "I have to get to class."

"Me, too. I'll catch you later, Ariel."

"See ya."

_XXX_

"I didn't know you smoked."

Meg looked up as Gaston approached her in the courtyard, then looked down at the unlit cigarette between her fingers. "I don't."

"Ah. Let me guess: it's a metaphor."

Meg arched an eyebrow at him. "A metaphor? What the hell are you talking about?"

Gaston laughed, then shrugged. "I don't know. It was in some movie Vanessa made me watch. I thought all you girls liked that movie."

"I don't know what movie you're talking about. But, no, this isn't a metaphor." Meg rolled the cigarette between her fingers. "Hades says smoking is a stress reliever. So, I've been considering it."

"So is drinking," Gaston said.

Meg shook her head. "I don't want to lose control of myself. I just want to relax."

Gaston sat down on the low wall next to Meg. "What's goin' on?"

Meg dropped the cigarette in her backpack; she'd give it back to Hades after school. "Hercules cornered me after lunch yesterday." She lowered her voice. "He said he only started dating Helga last year because she was blackmailing me."

Gaston laughed again. "Blackmailing _you_? With what?"

Meg bit her lower lip. "She was threatening to tell Vanessa that you and I hooked up."

Gaston became serious. "I wasn't with Vanessa when we-"

"I know. Still, Hercules didn't want to jeopardize my friendship with her, so he let Helga control him in order for her to keep what you and I did a secret."

"Huh. And here I thought Hercules was just a jerk."

Meg nodded. "Yeah. Me, too. Now, I don't know what to do about him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he _did_ cheat on me. But, he did it because he thought he was protecting me. His intentions were good, I guess."

Gaston rolled his eyes. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Maybe he was trying to be a good guy, but he still cheated on you, Megara. You can't let that slide."

"Believe me, I'm not." Meg sighed. "But, maybe I should let up on him a little and at least go back to being friends."

Gaston shrugged. "If that's what you want."

"I don't know what I want. Except, I _don't_ want Vanessa to find out about you and me. I know we didn't do anything wrong, but she'll be pissed at both of us for keeping it from her all this time."

"I agree. I don't want to be on Vanessa's bad side. She admitted she was the one who spray-painted Ariel's locker."

Meg frowned. "I don't know why she insists on bullying that poor girl."

Gaston was quiet for a moment before saying, "Between you and me: I don't think she's ever gotten over Eric."

"Ha! Please! You're a hundred times more man than that sap."

"I am," Gaston agreed. "But, I think it's gotten under her skin that he's the only guy who has ever broken up with her."

Meg rolled her eyes. "The drama never ends with her."

"Hey. She's _your_ friend."

"She's _your _girlfriend," Meg retorted. She stuck her tongue out at him.

Gaston laughed and jumped down from the wall. "Fair enough. So, do you guys have practice after school today?"

"Yeah. Every day until the gig on Saturday."

The bell rang and everyone gathered up their lunch trays and headed back inside.

"All right," Gaston said as he and Meg followed the crowd inside. "Maybe I'll stop by."

"Sounds good. Try to stay out of trouble until then."

"Ha! Not likely."


	12. Chapter 12

Quasimodo's house was small and in a run-down neighborhood. The house's gray paint was chipping off in chunks and the yard was overrun by tall, dead grass. There was another car parked in the driveway that had more rust than paint on it.

Esmeralda sighed and got out of her car. Her high-heeled sandals clicked against the cement driveway and she did her best to avoid the cracks. This was the last place she wanted to be tonight, but she had to pick up her homework so she could turn it tomorrow. Normally she met with Quasimodo behind the library, but today he told her she had to meet him at his house. He didn't give a reason, which only annoyed Esmeralda more. Still, she needed her homework, so she didn't have any other choice but to meet him here.

When she knocked on the screen door, she heard dogs start barking in the house. A few moments later, the door opened and Quasimodo appeared on the other side of the screen door.

"Oh. Hello, Esmeralda," he greeted.

Three dogs flanked him and started barking at Esmeralda. She took a step back and they jumped at the screen.

"I'm so sorry," Quasimodo muttered. He grabbed two of the dogs by the collar and pulled them away from the door. "Hugo! Victor! Get back! You, too, Laverne!" The dogs listened to him and wandered back inside the house. Quasimodo opened the screen door. "Won't you come in?"

Esmeralda took another step back. "I can't. I'm allergic to dogs." That was a lie, but she'd take any excuse not to have to go into his house. She just wanted to get her homework and leave.

"Oh." Quasimodo let the door close between them. "I didn't know that, I'm sorry. I'll just go get your homework."

"Thanks."

Quasimodo disappeared into the house. He returned a couple minutes later with her binder. He opened the screen door a crack and handed her the binder.

"Thanks a lot, Quasi," she told him.

Quasimodo blushed. "It's no problem at all."

They stood there awkwardly for a moment. Esmeralda cleared her throat. "Well, I should get going. My mom will worry if I'm out too late."

Quasimodo nodded. "Of course. Good night, Esmeralda."

"Good night." Esmeralda hurried back to her car. Once inside, she tossed her binder in the backseat and backed out of the driveway.

She didn't actually have to be home by any certain time, even though it was a school night. But, she didn't really have anywhere else to go, either. There were no parties on Thursday nights and no one went to clubs during the week. She thought about going to Jasmine's, but she kind of remembered Jasmine saying she was hanging out with Aladdin tonight. She briefly thought about meeting up with Phoebus, but then remembered she was still mad at him for ditching her the other night. She hasn't really even talked to him since Monday night. She decided to drag this out a couple more days, until Phoebus felt bad enough to apologize to her for leaving her stranded at the diner.

Esmeralda slowed to a stop at a red light and tapped her fingers against her steering wheel. Now what? She was a celebrity and famous, but she didn't have anyone to hang out with for a night? How did that happen? How can so many people love her, but at the end of the day she had no one to spend time with?

_XXX_

Friday morning before school, Aurora and Phillip met up with Proteus and Ramses at a little café in Camelot. Since their meeting on Tuesday, Phillip and Proteus had been talking a lot about their plans for the lock-in. As far as Aurora knew, though, they hadn't actually told anyone else about the plan.

When they arrived at the café, they found Proteus and Ramses sitting at a table outside. There were a few other people at the café; most of them looked like they were probably students at Camelot High.

"Good morning," Phillip greeted them.

Proteus smiled up at them. "Good morning. I'm glad you made it."

Phillip and Aurora sat down across from them. "Of course."

"We weren't sure what you guys like, so we got you egg sandwiches," Proteus said, pointing at two steaming sandwiches on plates. "We just got them, so they should still be hot."

"Thank you," Aurora said. She took a bite of the sandwich and couldn't help letting out a small _mmmm_ of approval. "This is delicious."

Proteus laughed. "Those are Ramses' favorite. He swears by them."

Aurora nodded. "I can see why. I vote we start having all of our meetings here."

"Speaking of which: we should get started so none of us are late for school," Ramses reminded them.

Phillip nodded. "So, Proteus and I may have finally agreed on a date for the lock-in." He exchanged a look with Proteus. "We've decided to make it part of our Homecoming activities. Since Homecoming is the same week for Andalasia and Camelot."

"Right," Proteus agreed. "We play each other on Saturday and then each school has their dance that night. So, we've decided to do the lock-in Friday night."

Aurora bit her lip. "Are you sure about that? School spirit is pretty high during Homecoming week. And the rival between our schools is even more intense during then."

"Exactly," Proteus stated, with a smile. "More people will show up represent their school and show off their school spirit. Plus, everyone always participates in Homecoming activities. I guarantee most, if not all, of both senior classes will show up."

"That makes sense," Ramses admitted.

"Proteus and I will talk to our principals today and solidify the plans," Phillip said. "Then we'll make the announcement to our schools Tuesday morning."

"Sounds like a good plan," Ramses told them.

"I have to admit, this actually sounds like it might be fun," Aurora agreed.

Phillip put his arm around her shoulders. "That's the spirit, Aurora. We're gonna need that enthusiasm to get everyone in our class on board."

Aurora pulled out her phone and checked the calendar. "Homecoming Week starts on October fifth. So, the lock-in will be on the ninth." She counted out the weeks. "Five weeks from today."

"If we pull this off, this could become a Homecoming tradition for both schools every year," Proteus said.

"If?" Phillip repeated. "Of course we'll pull this off. What could possibly go wrong?"

Aurora laughed. "Famous last words."


	13. Chapter 13

Belle paced back and forth in her bedroom, nervously nibbling on her nail. Adam had just texted her, letting her know he was parked around the corner and waiting for her.

Saturday night came quickly and Belle still hadn't made up her mind about sneaking out to go to Pleasure Island. So much could go wrong. Her father wasn't home right now and there was a possibility that he wouldn't get home until late- long after she'd get back from Pleasure Island. But, if he got home at a reasonable time, he'd come up to her room to check on her and she'd be busted.

Belle's phone started ringing. Of course, it was Adam. She answered it, "Hey, baby."

"Where are you?"

"Still in my room."

"You're not allowed to change your mind."

"I don't want to get caught, Adam."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then Adam replied, "Belle, what's the absolute worst that can happen? You get grounded for a couple weeks. When you look back at your senior year are you gonna say, 'I'm glad I didn't get grounded' or are you gonna say, 'I'm glad I made the most of my senior year and hung out with my friends and my super hot boyfriend'?"

Belle laughed. "Fine! I'll be down in a minute."

Belle hung up the phone before she could change her mind. She wedged a folded sheet of paper under her window to keep it from closing, then snuck out the back door, locking it behind her. When she rounded the corner, Adam flashed his headlights at her and she climbed into the front seat.

When they arrived at Pleasure Island, it was packed. By the time they were able to push their way to the stage near the Ferris wheel, the opening band was just finishing up their last song. Some of the people clapped for them and the band thanked them. When they announced Meg's band, Purple Teardrops, was coming on in a few minutes, everyone cheered.

"Belle! What are you doing here?" Jane waved as she and Tarzan wiggled their way through the people to get to Belle. "I thought you were grounded."

"I am. I snuck out," Belle confessed.

Jane's eyes grew wide. "No way!" She turned to Adam. "You're a bad influence on her." She giggled. "But, I'm glad you're here, Belle."

Belle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "If my dad catches me, I'm screwed."

Jane link her arm through Belle's. "Don't spend all night worrying about that; you won't have any fun. Deal with that _if_ you get caught."

Belle took a deep breath to calm down and released it. "You're right."

Jane started to lead them away from the crowd. "Come on, Peter Pan is running the Ferris wheel right now and I know if we bribe him, he'll stop the Ferris wheel while we're on top so we can watch the first song above everyone else."

The four of them made their way to the Ferris wheel. There was a little bit of a line; clearly they weren't the only ones with the idea of watching the show from above the crowd. When it was their turn, Tarzan slipped some money to Peter and asked him to stop them at the top for the duration of the first song. Peter agreed.

Jane and Tarzan got in the car ahead of Belle's and Adam's. Adam took her hand and kissed her knuckles. Butterflies filled her stomach and she smiled at him.

"See?" he said. "This is way better than sitting at home."

XXX

"All right, everyone, don't fuck this up!" Vanessa announced as the band got ready to go on the stage.

Flynn slipped his bass strap over his shoulder and took Rapunzel's hand. "Ready?"

Rapunzel nodded excitedly. "Definitely!"

Rapunzel was pumped. Before this summer, she had no idea how fun it was to perform in front of people. It gave her a high unlike anything else. And, even though most peoples' attention were on Vanessa since she was the singer, Rapunzel still felt pretty awesome and important when she was up there.

Vanessa nodded at Jim and he walked out on stage. As soon as everyone saw him, they cheered. He sat down at the drum set and banged out a solo. Part way through it, Rapunzel walked out and started playing the keyboard, eliciting more cheers. Flynn came out next and joined them with the bass. Meg was next with a kick ass guitar solo that had everyone practically screaming in excitement. Vanessa finally came out and jumped right into _I Love Rock N Roll_.

Everyone started singing along. Rapunzel's eyes scanned over the crowd and were instantly drawn to Thomas. At first, Rapunzel was excited to see him, but then she realized he wasn't watching her, he was watching Meg. Rapunzel cast her eyes sideways towards Meg. Meg didn't seem to notice Thomas; she was caught up in playing and singing back up for Vanessa.

When Rapunzel looked back at Thomas, however, he was now looking at her. Thomas gave her a small wave and she smiled at him.

When they finished the song, Rapunzel noticed a bigger crowd had gathered.

"Thank you for coming out to see us!" Vanessa exclaimed into her microphone. This was met with more cheers. "If you like what you hear, leave your money in the tip jar." She motioned at the jar on the corner of the stage near Flynn. "If you don't leave a tip, we'll mug you when you leave here tonight."

Rapunzel saw a few women give them appalled looks and leave, dragging their kids behind them.

Vanessa either didn't seem to notice the families leaving, or she didn't care. She launched right into _Bad Blood_. Halfway through the song, Rapunzel noticed Meg was glowering at someone in the audience. Rapunzel followed her gaze and saw Hercules making his way to the front of the crowd. When he looked up, he gave Meg a shy smile. To Rapunzel's surprise, Meg's face softened and she nodded back at him.

Rapunzel couldn't help feeling a little relieved. Maybe there was hope for Meg and Hercules to get back together and no hope for Thomas and Meg rekindling their relationship. To be sure, though, Rapunzel had been playing with the idea of trying to set Thomas up on a date with someone else. Surely, Flynn had to know a single girl that would be good for Thomas; girls were always shamelessly flirting with Flynn, chances are one of them would be interested in Thomas. She'd have to ask Flynn. Maybe by homecoming, things could back to the way they were before Meg came along.


End file.
